Archive for June, 2008

June 20, 2008

Gratitude

Usually writing is a flow for me that is so easy, it just happens.Alas, this time has been different.My computer is malfunctioning and I love composing with it .Now, I am writing long hand.My hand writing is so bad it is almost illegible, even to me.

.In the past gratitude was part of my experience. At times life seemed blissful, full of love and clarity.Gratitude was real. However, at this time, to say I was grateful about anything was a real stretch.The more I tried to write the grumpier I got.

The situations in my life were so challenging and getting more so all the time.I really just had to stop and ask myself, “What is going on here?Is this some kind of cosmic joke? What is all this resistance about?”

Then it hit me.Everything in life was just fine.

It always had been. The mind had to put its own spin on every event that happened.This ‘spin cycle’ of thought was usually sinister or at the very least suspicious. For example, “Everyone is out to get you”, “We have to protect ourselves,” or “So and so is ‘worse than’/’better than’ us.”Who are we? I realized that this meant there is the mind and something observing the mind. That ‘something’ that is beyond mind is who we really are.

“When you listen to a thought, you are aware not only of the thought, but also to yourself as the witness to the thought. A new dimension of consciousness has come in.”

From “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle

Nevertheless, many people live only from the neck up.They are so identified with their thoughts that they think that is who they are. When people begin to ask themselves who is witnessing the thought?Life changes.Self-awareness grows. It is a subtle shift, but on an energy level it is huge. A new dimension of consciousness has come in..

If I am grateful for anything, then I must admit I am grateful for everything in my life. All of it has led me to this realization of who I am in this moment. Beyond the situations that come and go in my life, I find that this awareness is always there. I am grateful to all the wonderful beings that pointed the way and are a constant source of inspiration.

“When I see I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I see I am everything, that is love.And between these two, my life moves.” by Nisargadatta Maharuj

Life can only be lived now. If we get stuck in our minds we regret the past and worry about the future. So much energy gets tied up that we miss this beautiful moment.That is also the great thing about being present. Even if you get lost in the past, this now moment is always available for you to remember who you are and be present for what life is offering you. I am so grateful for these unending opportunities to be present now and live.